The King of Oil: The Secret Lives of Marc Rich

Daniel Ammann

Oct 2009 · Sold by St. Martin's Press

About this ebook

Billionaire oil trader Marc Rich for the first time talks at length about his private life (including his expensive divorce from wife Denise); his invention of the spot oil market, which made his fortune and changed the world economy; his lucrative and unpublicized dealings with Ayatollah Khomeini's Iran, Fidel Castro's Cuba, war-ravaged Angola, and apartheid South Africa; his quiet cooperation with the Israeli and U.S. governments (even after he was indicted for tax fraud by Rudy Guiliani) and near-comical attempts by U.S. officials to kidnap him illegally.

This sure-to-make-headlines book from Daniel Ammann is the first no-holds-barred biography of Rich, who was famously pardoned by Bill Clinton, and resurfaced in the news during the confirmation hearings of Attorney General Eric Holder. The King of Oil sheds stunning new light on one of the most controversial international businessmen of all time, charting Rich's rise from the Holocaust, which he fled as a young boy, to become the wealthiest and most powerful oil and commodities trader of the century. From his earliest trading days to the present, Marc Rich's story is astonishing and compelling.

Ratings and reviews

Fascinating account of a man who became a billionaire by supplying services that others wanted. Apparently he did it by working harder and being willing to go where others were unprepared like Cuba and Iran. Also, by adopting a long term mentality vs short term profit. Eye opening to read the details that reinforce just how connected commodities and specifically oil are to politics. Anyone looking for insight into 'how not to waste a crisis' should read this book. Mark Rich is the king at this. Book reinforced how important commodities are to maintaining and consolidating power, and that it encourages people to do things they don't really want to. For instance, a number of countries sold oil to South Africa during apartheid even though they publicly said they wouldn't.

It's an excellent book in terms of the light he sheds on his own oil trading procedures. For people familiar with the business, it just confirms what we already knew -- which to me is valuable. It is interesting, however, that the old truism applies. Life as well as business is all about who you know, your connections. Mr. Rich would not have been able to do his big breakthrough transaction had he and his partner not had good relations with key executives at the big oil companies. Without those critical contacts he would've failed I believe. Because even with the supply secured, nobody would've taken him seriously if he had to make cold calls to oil companies.

You should know. Don't believe what you think you know about oil until you really know what it is. Sure the news pages and television shows tell you but Marc Rich knew what it is and how to make money from it. Thanks to him it is now a stock market commodities traded every day. You can get rich from it. Thanks to him you can pay for your child's education with oil profit. He was on the top 10 most wanted list behind Osama bin Laden. President Clinton pardoned him. Why?

About the author

DANIEL AMMANN is business editor of the highly regarded Swiss weekly "Die Weltwoche". He was educated at Zurich University, UC Berkeley and Fondation Postuniversitaire Internationale in Paris. In 2007 he won the Georg von Holtzbrinck Prize for Business Journalism.